I'll attempt to answer some of your questions. Creeping Jenny is very easy to propagate. Just put some cuttings in potting soil. In my yard it is taking over all the beds I put it in. If you come to the swap I'll bring you some. Actually coming to the swap is a great way to get plants and talk to other gardeners and learn about what grows well here. Generally plants that people bring to trade are ones that do so well that we need to get rid of some of them. You don't have to put in raised beds. Lasagna beds are great way to go. If you haven't heard of this there's a book called Lasagna Gardening you can get from the library or you can Google it or do a search in Garden Web. I'm not someone who can answer your lawn questions but the bugs you mentioned may be Box Elder bugs. Try an image search and see if that's what they are.

I will try to address a bit about fast growing/reseeding plants. The best way to go is natives. Here are a couple of sights:

http://www.hgic.umd.edu/
UMD Home and Garden Information Center

http://www.mdflora.org/events/plantsales.html
Maryland Native Plant Society: Plant Sales

From my personal experience the following perennials grow well, flower almost immediately, but some of them could be a bit invasive:

Black-eyed Susan (can be invasive)
Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea)
Yarrow (can be invasive)
Shasta Daisies
Monarda (can be invasive)
Joe Pye Weed (can be invasive)

Hope that helps some! Oh, and definitely come to the swap. May 3.

Jen

Thanks so much! How do I sign up for the swap? Can anyone just come, or do I have to join a certain group?

I'll do an image search on the bug!

Thanks so much!!!!
Julie.

Julie,

My favorite look is the cottage garden thing also. If you remember to contact me before the swap I should have a good amount of stuff to bring for you.

Kathleen

This is the group and you're in it!

Directions to the swap and information about how it works are on the "Exchanges" part of the Mid-Atlantic Gardening Forum. Click on "Exchanges" at the top of the list of topics here.

Julie, boxelder bugs are a fact of life for a person who lives near a boxelder maple (acer negundo). They don't bite, they don't sting, they don't eat most garden plants and as long as they're outdoors and not inside, you should consider ignoring them.

Dogs will ruin anything you plant. Creeping phlox make a nice grass substitute in patches, but it won't survive dogs. I personally would not allow dogs to have the run of my garden, but I live far enough out that there's plenty of other room to run. Is your place large enough so you could fence a dog run and cover that with wood chips?

Clay can be hard to deal with, but it is not really evil. Check out craigslist.org and see if anyone near you is offering horse manure. Dig HM into your clay and you'll have a fabulous planting medium. Save your autumn leaves and use them for mulch. Make yourself a compost pile. For large quantities of mulch, listen for the sound of chainsaws in the morning and then go out and find where the tree guys are working. They'll probably be happy to dump the shredded tree onto your driveway.

Here are some things that do well here. The ones marked with stars provide wonderful cut flowers, though not necessarily immediately. For blooms this year, you can always plant some annuals. And do consider including some trees!

peonies*
baptisia*
clematis
daffodils*
amsonia
eupatorium 'Chocolate'
nepeta - catmint
brunnera
asters*
lavender
russian sage
columbine
sedum
siberian iris* (I have regular i. germanicus, also, and they bloom nicely, but often have trouble with bacterial soft rot)

shrubs:
blueberries
viburnum (birds eat the berries)
lilacs*
mockorange
hydrangeas (all kinds!)*
witchhazel

flowering trees:
redbud
magnolia
flowering crab (birds eat the fruit)
chionanthus
halesia
dogwood

Julie,
Your post was like deja vu for me.
I also:
am Irish
have two toddlers
have two dogs
am a relative newbie but LOVE gardening.
Sounds like you have tons more energy than me though. I wish you all the best with the gardening, and mabe we'll meet in person at a swop!!
Great to know you're out there gardening too.
Sandra in Arnold

Thank you guys for so much info!! I will definitely plan on coming to the swap, and can't wait to meet all of you!! As I get time away from my two crazy toddlers, I'll read through the links.

RE; the dog issue --- Unfortunately I took away half my yard for a swimming pool, so the dogs don't have an area that I could enclose, and boy do I wish there was something I could do to get rid of my burnt spotty grass areas - it looks awful. I've been so happy to see some moss coming in, and some kind of creeping stuff (probably a weed), but it's green, so therefore, I'm A-Okay with it!

Sandra, holy moly that's funny - where in Ireland are you from? I came here from Co.Antrim, and believe me, I need way more energy than I currently have!!! I've gained 30lbs since summer, so I'm hoping that doing more in the garden will help with that part of my life too!! Gotta get back to spinning classes!! LOL.

-Julie.

You have a great source for composted horse manure at the Park Service stables at Military Road and Rock Creek Parkway. Just go to the headquarters there. They compost it with straw and it smells so wonderful -- like tobacco. Best of all, it's free. Bring a truck or bags. If you have a truck, they'll load it for you.

Julie,
I'm from Co. Cavan, I have loads of relatives in Co. Antrim (Ballymoney). I've been here since early '90s and love MD. It's beautiful, varied, and people are just wonderful. It's home now. Happy Gardening!

Thank you so much for all the great information! I'm drooling to get out and plant containers of annuals, but I guess I'll keep waiting another two weeks until the signs of frost are gone - it's killing me!

Sandra - I've got tons of friends in Ballymoney - I'm not sure that I'm yet in love with the people from MD (and let me add to that by saying in the Montgomery County area of MD - everyone seems so uptight, easy to anger, always in a rush, or working, and no one ever makes eye contact with complete strangers, to just say hello!!) - maybe it's just that as an adult it's harder to make friends? Or coming from Ireland, not everyone gets my humour, or sometimes what seems like lack thereof! Plus I think the friends you grew up with, and know inside out, will never be properly replicated.

Julie.

Julie,

Please don't feel bad!! The lack of social skills, racing around, and general rudeness are all an East Coast thing. The more urban the area, the worse the symptoms.

That being said, PLEASE come to the swap so that you can see that not all of us now living in MD are putzes. ;-)

I am a transplant from SW PA (near Pittsburgh) and have had to get used to a lot around here. Mostly the crowding and crappy drivers. So hang in there!! You already have friends in the form of those on this forum.

Jen

This is really interesting. I am a transplant from other country as well and I've got a completely opposite impression. I live in Montgomery county. I think that people are very friendly and helpful here. At least the majority of them.